Macquarie porn incident a timely reminder on workplace email policies

It’s the routine live television news cross that’s become an internet sensation around the world. Macquarie Group employee David Kiely has been thrust into the middle of a storm of controversy after he was caught looking at pictures of supermodel Miranda Kerr during a live cross to the trading room during a Seven Network news bulletin.

While Keily’s fate is reportedly yet to be determined, workplace lawyer Peter Vitale of CCI Lawyers says the case could provide all employers with the chance to remind workers of email and internet usage policies.

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While there are few workplaces that appear on live television on a regular basis, all offices have visitors such as clients, contractors, couriers and board members walking through every day.

An offensive email at the wrong time can cause embarrassment and, if a client is particularly sensitive, much worse.

“People who have got computer screens need to be aware of their surroundings,” Vitale says.

“If you are in an open-plan office and you receive something, you need to be careful.”

Vitale says many businesses take a very strict approach to email usage: any email that it is not business related should be deleted.

 “If you can tell whether it is business or personal, open it, but don’t open any attachments.”

While the policy might sound harsh – most personal emails between friends or families are inoffensive – Vitale says employers are entitled to warn workers that some materials could be offensive to clients and suppliers.

Of course, policing such a policy is difficult and it is only usually when someone is caught with offensive material on their email that managers become involved.

Vitale says employers will need to make a judgement about how offensive material is and whether the staff member opened an attachment they didn’t know to contain offensive content, or whether they knowingly sent this content on.

“If there’s a blatant breach of the policy and there is something that is obviously pornographic, that will justify a warning in most cases,” Vitale says.